Fyador
Fyador is the name of a distant, formerly powerful and massive empire far to the west of the Imperium, situated on either a large island or quite possibly a continent, though the Fyadorians have never progressed much further than the tall mountain ranges which border the western fringes of their nation due to an extremely fierce and centuries-long confrontration against barbarian goodbeasts whose numbers seem endless. The southermost point of this landmass is roughly equal to the same latitude of Pricklee Pointe of the Mahsterious Sahthern Cahntinent, while its northermost latitude is slightly above that of Urk. It takes a month's perilous journey by sea from Bully Harbor to reach the outlying coastal cities and towns of the region. Notable Citizens of (Known) Fyadorian Descent in the Imperium (Note that there is no restriction to my knowledge on creating new characters who may have immigrated from Fyador or who are of Fyadorian descent, but for it to be authentic it is suggested one take a look at the characeristics, history, and culture of the land they will be coming from, and how they act in the Imperium. If one has questions, feel free to message me on here). Armina Rogue: (Former Minister of War, Captain of the Golden Hide). Falun C. Ryalor (Former Captain of The Stoatorian Guard , sole remaining(if illegitimate) heir of the Fyadorian Imperial Throne before his assassination by M.A.U.L. for supporting former and current Minister of War Nuori Fremont against former Minister of Misanthropy and now Emperor Ullyanov in the inter-ministry struggles of 1728). Alexei Koslov (Former Commissioner of the Fogey Police Force and uncle to Falun, is presumed dead or captured at the hands of M.A.U.L. after seeking retailation for the death of his nephew). Aille and Valdrisk Rainblade-Ryalor (Kits of the marriage of Falun C. Ryalor and Tanya Rainblade, sole surviving members of the Imperial bloodline). General observations about Fyadorian immigrants to the Imperium: *Almost all Fyadorians who spend a length of time in the Imperium, seem to lose much, or completely lose, their speciest bias, which is mostly out of fear of the unknown. Even those who do not lose their bias tend to moderate it quite a bit, to the point of half-hearted grumbling instead of anything else. *Fyadorians tend to be very skilled fighters when properly trained, with a seemingly natural affinity and preference for artillery, blades, and marksmanship with longbows. This typically leads to them joining military organizations while in Vulpinsula, where they tend to excel. *They are noted for being more intelligent than average, but generally not sporting deviant phyisiques one way or the other, with nearly every Fyadorian fox falling within 5'4-6'2 in height. In terms of their fur, their colors range from the purest white to black, with every shade in between. In their homeland, fur color mattered somewhat in terms of ethnicity: the white and grey foxes of the north faced a great deal of discrimination for being the last holdouts against Fyadorian rule and for rebelling at every possible chance, but much like their speciest bias, Fyadorians in the Imperium seem to discount or lessen this discrimination. *One will see them expressing a wide range of opinions about affairs in their old country, which can turn violent, especially regarding the now-decades long civil war which has torn the land asunder and reduced the population by nearly three-fifths through war and famine. *They tend to be extremely loyal to their new homeland, and while they may participate in coups and plots, it is normally to protect the Imperium in the best way they see fit. This may not translate to what official policy is, or even to who the Emperor is, but by and large it is very rare to see a Fyadorian backstabbing the land they have accepted as their new homeland. *Fyadorians have been known to assimilate surprisingly well, to the point where descendents are often unaware that they have Fyadorian heritage. Many foxes across Imperium have at least one or two Fyadorian relatives or ancestors, estimates range from one fifth to as many as one half of the foxes in the Imperium have some distant blood relation to the land. *The amount who still retain the culture and traditions is relatively small, tending to stay around six to ten percent of the vulpine population concentrated mostly in Amarone, Bully Harbor, and Downel, and tend to be disproportionately middle and lower upper class. In the public sphere, they gravitate to positions in the Ministry of Peace and War, followed by the Ministry of Misanthropy, which oftentimes leads to bitter disputes in the community when those ministries come into conflict (which is often). It is not unheard of, however, for particularly morally upright ones to fall under the indirect authority of the Ministry of Niceties via The Unsmudgables, or for the poorer, less well-intergrated ones to serve as enforcers for the The Furotazzi Family. * The disproportionate majority of them,regardless of ideological differences, however, support the Imperium and The Grey Guard over Maelstrom due to the latter's actions in actively attacking their new homeland and advocating anachy, which goes not only against their cultural ethos but against their loyalty to their new nation. Relations with the Imperium Fyador historically been a land-based Empire, with little interest or desire to expand east, south, or further north when most of their military forces and attention has been attempting to break the stalemate in their never-ending attempt to push beyond the mountains at their border, or by using them to quell internal disputes and rebellions. Before the Revolution of 1705 toppled the last Fyadorian Emperor, relations with the Imperium were cordial if relatively distant. It was said that there was a long-standing game of chess played by written instruction by monthly ship between both emperors, and that neither side had found a way to break the stalemate in the last twenty-seven years. Aside from that interaction, not much on the diplomatic was ever achieved aside from setting aside foreigner's quarters for Imperial traders and occasionally quibbling over tariff rates, both remained more or less disinterested with each other. With the current civil war, this policy has unofficially continued, with the Fyadorian warlords too busy with their own affairs to bother with the Imperium or risk provoking it. Militarily, Fyador always had far too many land troops for the Imperium to effectively invade, at its peak having up to nearly one hundred and fifty companies of soldiers for an impressive army of fifteen thousand, but they never bothered to maintain or equip a navy of a size large enough to transport any of those soldiers nor had any real inclination to, and with the decline of the Empire over the past century and fortifications requiring far less troops to be stationed to defend the border, these numbers have fallen rather dramatically. This has continued even more so so since the start of the civil war, with the amount of companies having fallen to under forty, some even say thirty, across the entire nation. This brings the total amount of armed forces in the country to around three to four thousand, or between one fifth and one fourth of its peak military power nearly two centuries ago, split into various camps who cannot really bother to afford more than one or two warships which give them little utility nor who really want to make an enemy of an entire Empire when they haven't even managed to reunite their own. Economically, the two lands complement each other quite well, although since the voyage to Fyador requires a long and dangerous trip at sea, voyages are relatively rare between the two. Those trips, however, prove to be extremely profitable to those merchants who do make them, as Fyadorians are extremely skilled in metalwork, fabrics, and engineering, often producing goods which fetch top-gilder in the Imperium, and can provide large quantities of high-quality timber that is essential to the running of the Imperium. In exchange, Fyadorians highly prize the fine liquor of the Imperium, as well as its more refined cuisine, woodworking, spices, dye, and numerous other commodities from it. Not much has changed since the start of the civil war, except that demand for food has spiked up to forty percent more than normal. Culture Fyadorian culture is known for emphasizing order and stability over personal freedom and liberty, and this extends to the private as well as public sphere. One is expected to obey one's superiors or elders, even if they are not necessarily correct. If this becomes intolerable and one must rebel and use violence, one should do it quickly and efficiently and with minimum unnecessary bloodshed to avoid even more fighting. There is also a well-developed sense of honor toward guests:it is seen as the ultimate social faux-pas to harm a guest after one has given them their word to take care of them. Fyadorians tend to be very polite to those of their own social rank, as insults are seen as the prelude to challenging someone to a duel, which is not that infrequent of an occurence in Fyadorian culture(though it should be noted duels are not necessarily to the death or even with swords, one could have a duel of words, a duel of sausages, it is entirely up to the two engaging in the duel to set the rules). Generally, the attitude with words is "come heavy or don't bother coming at all", meaning you either say what you really mean and back it up or don't bother saying it, which gives them the impression of being very honest. The answer is far more nuanced: while a Fyadorian will tell you what they really feel, they may not tell you the entirety of how they really feel, such as the following statement: "I liked having dinner at your house", and they would mean it. However, upon closer expection, notice how the speaker did not make any references to enjoying you, or even the food itself. He or she could very well have just liked the house or any number of things that contribute to a successful dinner. Fyadorians are known for their stonemasonry and affinity for flowers, making their grander cities wonderful mixtures of stone and flowers. Most Fyadorian houses are built of stone and built to last, and tend to be handed down through the family, making the construction of new homes very expensive but a worthwhile investment as they are very hard to burn down and unlikely to be blown away or be severely damaged by a storm. The staple diet includes rice, fish, wheat, a variety of vegetables, various scavenged forest articles such as nuts, berries, and honey, and cultivated fruit such as apples and oranges. They are known for making a wide variety of sauces, and Imperium spices are always in extremely high demand to help flavor the food. They have alcohol, although it is mostly lager and beer and there is a distinct lack of whisky, grog, and wine, meaning such are considered valuable trade oddities, often selling for up to five to seven times what they would go for in Bully Harbor. Birds(goodbeast birds are considered a particular delicacy and are often targeted first by Fyadorian border archers. There were a few incidents when the first Missertross Poste gulls arrived in the land as a result, and to this day they refuse to carry messages across the sea, forcing all communication to be handled by ship, leading to relatively little recent information being heard about the country in the Imperium). Daily dress tends not to differ that much from those of the Imperium, though the clothes tend to be mostly of durable, reinforced cotton. What they are truly known for, however, is their silk, which enables them to weave beautifully tailored kimonos for formal occasions. These are in extremely high demand in the Imperium amongst certain segments of the population. Native Fyadorians are known for their xenophobia toward non-foxes, which is why most of the traders who come tend to be of vulpine descent. Those who are not are to either remain on their ship, or spend time in the specifically designated foreigner quarters. This is borne out of a longstanding fear toward the unknown, it is important to remember most Fyadorians have not seen a non-vulpine vermin in nearly eleven centuries, so it is quite a shock to see one. That and the fact that foreigners in general tend to bring disease and new types of fleas with them, leading to them being stereotyped as dirty and disease-ridden. That being said, there is a sizable minority who do not share this view and are much more likely to be open to foreigners, these types tend to be concentrated around the more open-minded and liberal coastal cities then in the far more conservative interior. Technology The Fyadorians were known to be a bit more technologocially advanced than the Imperium before the collapse of their Empire, after decades of chaotic civil war ground development to a standstill while the Imperium caught up, the scales have evened out quite a bit. Still, the Fyadorians are noted and credited for the following: '''Repeating Ballistae: '''Fyadorians were directly observed having these by 1727, mostly as static or semi-static large defensive weapons placed on castles or moved by mobile teams. Some variants were miniaturized enough to be deployed onto the streets to use against crowds, although this was considered a risky manuever since such ballistae cost a lot of money to design, build, and deploy, and are very easy to disable if set on fire or it suffers even a small amount of abuse towards its mechanical gears. It is unknown if they have ever mounted these or tested them on ships, but it is unlikely given that they are not a naturally seafaring nation. '''Katanas: '''There is some speculation that the katana might have originated in Fyador, but if it did, it is no longer unique to the land, if still very rare to find outside of it. Still, the Fyadorians have been noted to be extremely skilled at crafting, forging, and using them. The current Imperium blade handed down to Captain of the Stoatorian Guard, Peacemaker, is of Fyadorian make. Most of the ones one might see for sale in the Imperium's high-end weapon shops likely end up originating from here since it is simpler to just make orders and import them where high-quality metals and a large number of smiths can be found. They are notoriously expensive, however, with even the most basic ones running their owners between four to six thousand gilders, and top-end blades with all of the bells and whistles can cost up to fifteen thousand. Genuine Fyadorian katanas are nonetheless worth this substantial investment, being notoriously difficult to break and extremely deadly in combat in the hands of a skilled user. '''Aqueducts/Sewage: '''The Fyadorians have been noted to use stone aqueducts, and to have a very basic sewage system set in place. The combination of these two systems along with advances in city planning tend to me Fyadorian cities that are properly maintained, remarkably disease free, and not likely to kill somebeast with their smell in the summer months. Pre-History(???-694) It is unknown when exactly the first vermin settlers arrived, who they were, or what they looked like on the land that would later comprise Fyador. It is also unknown for how long goodbeasts had populated the region, skeletons later found broken apart in deep ravines indicate that if there were any singificant amounts, they were quickly and painfully exterminated soon after the arrival of vermin on the shores. It is spectulated that by 300, foxes comprised the majority of the population of the region, and by 500 were apparently engaged in a unified, religio-speciest effort to purge everybeast who was not a fox from the precious few stone tablets remaining from the period. It appeared this effort was launched on the premise that this would end constant conflict, thievary, and warfare between various tribes and early city-states that began to form. This bloody century-and-a-quarter long crusade, remains of which can still be spotted in some of the more remote and unsettled regions today, ended with the last foreigner, an extremely unfortunate and rotund rat, being covered with molten gold until he died. There was complete peace for approximately fifteen minutes, when a dispute began between three rival warchiefs over who would get to keep the statue of him, and constant warfare would wrack the continent until the Fyadorian Wars of Unification brought a single nationstate over six centuries later. Founding of Fyad (694-937) Wars of Unification (937-1283) Write the second section of your page here. Early Empire (1283-1483) Peak of Empire(1483-1623) Decline and Fall(1623-1705) Recent Events (1705-1733) With the assassination of the Emperor in Fyad during the People's Rebellion of 1705, civil war between the remaining aristocracy and the revolutionaries erupted throughout the county, and this fighting has continued nonstop for nearly thirty years. Two-thirds of the army sided with the aristocrats, while the remaining third joined thousands of rebellious peasants in revolt against them. The scales of war have favored one side and then the other as decade upon decade of fighting tore the country asunder: at present it seems to be a stalemate between the imperial warlords and the various revolutionary committees. The aristocrats are far more powerful in the mid and southern interior than they are in the coastal cities and the north where the rebels hold the most sway, though each have inroads into the territory of the other. Additionally, a few of the northern cities, seeing an opportunity to escape Fyadorian domination entirely, have formed their own league, and have begone to evict or ethnically cleanse foxes whose fur color is not white or grey in retailation for their original forced submission to Fyadorian rule and poor treatment in general. It is important to note that though the aristocrats favor the Imperial system, they do not necessarily want a return of the same Imperial bloodline which led to the chronic mismanagement and ultimately civil war in the country. The Golden Hide once made a journey to an outlying trading post of the land controlled by a rebel committee. Falun, along with Skeenie, lead an Imperium expedition to the land after he recovered memories of it from his amnesia. It is also where Armina Rogue snuck onboard the ship. One of his former friends, now a captain of a company of soldiers, recognized him and sped him off to the local castle, whereupon he reminded his old friend who he was, and after a tense standoff, swore loyalty to him after seeing his noble character. The crew of the Hide and the company of Fyadorian solders held off an assault by nearly three times their number thanks to the advantage of the castle and its repeating ballistae, and captured the port city in the name of the Fyadorian Imperial Family. Falun, however, did have to return to the Imperium, and would never be able to return to lead another expedition as he was killed a year later by agents of the Ministry of Misanthropy. It is unknown whether or not the city has remained unconquered and is still awaitng the return of Falun five years later, or whether it has been reconquered by rebel or aristocratic forces. The Emperors of the Imperium do have a pretext for possible invasion should they wish to launch an offensive war of conquest as both of the heirs are current Imperial citizens and still very young. It is quite possible an ambitious Emperor wishing to distract his citizens from troubles at home could very well launch a war to restore these two to their "rightful" position and serve as a "regent" for them, administering all of "their" territories, raising armies, and excising taxes in their "benefit" and would likely find allies in those who still support the Imperial family. Political theorists sometimes speculate on the ramifications of a future marriage between a vulpine Emperor and one of the two kits ruling a reunified Fyador-with the land armies and material resources of Fyador and the fleet of the Imperium, such a union would ensure Imperium dominance across the entire known world. But, as of now, that is just wild speculation considering the kits are still well in the single digit age bracket and there is perhaps but one small city out of many who would swear allegiance to them. Category:Non-Imperial Locations